COMMENT More than 50 years after Independence, Malaysians are still frequently reminded by Umno leaders of the so-called ‘Social Contract’ that was supposed to have been agreed upon by “the three races” whenever the non-bumiputeras demand civil liberties and the end to discrimination.

My new book ‘Patriots & Pretenders’ aims to put the historical facts in perspective so that the new generation of Malaysians understands the class forces that were arraigned during the anti-colonial struggle and gets to know who the real anti-colonial fighters were.

The publication of this book coincides with the recent announcement by the Education Ministry that history is to be a compulsory subject in the SPM. It led to vocal protest from several sectors who find the ‘official’ history in Malaysia rather suspect.

Ever since the ‘May 13 Incident’ and the promulgation of the National Cultural Policy, Malaysian history has been written from the point of view of the ruling party Umno in line with its Malay-centric populist ideology.

It is an official history that is used to bolster one ethnic group at the expense of the other communities in an attempt to divide and rule. Consequently, whole categories of people have been denied their rightful place in Malaysian history...